I'm Following Jesus
“And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Tribulation; Severe affliction, stresses of life, vexations. Saved or not, we all deal with tribulation, the difference between those who know Jesus Christ as their Saviour and those who do not, Christ is with us through all of it, and who better to have by your side. Praise God! Consolation, Comfort; alleviation of misery, or distress of mind. Do you realize that God’s will for our lives is that we serve in the ministry that He has given us? Yes, we all have a ministry that God wants us to lead, one that teaches us how to handle tribulation so that we can be a consolation to others. “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.” – II Corinthians 1:5-6.

The Book of II Corinthians was written Paul to believers at Corinth, and all believers. The timeline for this letter took place approximately 60AD, and the purpose of the book was to reestablish his authority as an apostle, and show gratitude and thanks for their faithfulness in Christ. What we are to learn from the book is that human weakness provides an opportunity for the power of God to be revealed through us. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was one of discipline, this one, written about a year later, is one of encouragement. He had it written when he himself was discouraged and heard how they had turned things around. He wanted to show them how pleased he was that they were living by the true Gospel, and how much of an encouragement they were to him. He points out that there are indeed blessings as we endure suffering.

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia: Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation. For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;” – II Corinthians 1:1-4,7-10.

“But we had the sentence of death in ourselves,” Before we were saved, we had a death sentence placed upon us, but the second we accepted Jesus Christ as our Saviour we are delivered from that, much more than that, we will be resurrected upon Christ’s return. Life can drag us down, sometimes to the point that we are in complete misery all the time. Going through tribulation is never meant to punish or push us away from God, but do the opposite, to comfort and draw us closer to Him. And as we overcome it we can be an encouragement to someone else who’s going through it now. Going through tribulation is a good reminder of what Christ did for us and that we belong to Him (or ought to be if we are not saved), but we have to be careful not to be so discouraged that we bring others down with us. Paul, stresses the importance of not being so discouraged around others that you become a discouragement.

“But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness. For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me? And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all. For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you. Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.” – II Corinthians 2:1-4,14-17.

“For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad,” If all we do is walk around moping, and sad all the time, what good are we going to be to others, let alone ourselves? I get it, life is hard sometimes, and for the life of me, it is hard to comprehend some of the things we see and hear about. I just read the heartbreaking news about a man that got life in prison because he left his infant child in a swing for two weeks and died, covered in filth. Talk about discouragement, this is enough to get you to questioning why God even brought a baby into that mess, but all we can do is praise God that that baby is in heaven right now. This is not from God, this is the devil, and his disregard for life. All wicked evil is from the devil, God intervenes in ways that we may never understand, which is why all we can do is trust God through our tribulations. “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:6-9.

We must realize something while we are facing tribulation, we have direct one on one communication with God. Jesus is not going to let us go, He will see us through. Through Paul, we are reminded that we can look God in the face and talk to Him directly because Jesus took the veil away on the cross.

“Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” – II Corinthians 3:12-18.

“the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord,” The unbelieving Jews as well as every other religious sect that uses Old Testament law as their means of salvation has a veil upon their heart, they refuse to believe in the Gospel of Christ, therefore, they will keep their death sentence. You can point out follow every law in the Old Testament, but knowing the law or even following it does nothing for us if we do not know Jesus Christ as our Saviour. He replaced the Law of Moses, and removed the veil that keeps us from looking God straight in the face. We cannot get to God without Jesus, that is the new law, until we believe this we will never be free. “Jesus answered them,Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.And the servant abideth not in the house for ever:butthe Son abideth ever.If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” – John 8:34-36. Praise God!

Believe it or not, the tribulation we face and how we handle it with Christ has a bigger impact on others than us. The lost want to see hope in their tribulations, and if they see that hope through Christ as He shines through us than we can see souls saved through ours. “Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” – II Corinthians 4:1-4,15-18.

“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds” Who is the god of this world? The devil himself. I had a pastor that calls him, smutty face, and he sure is. Old smutty face is the main culprit behind our tribulation because while God already knows we will see Jesus, the devil will do everything he can to discourage the lost from seeing Him. If you are saved and living a life with Christ in it, it is not because you were forced, it is because you willingly chose Christ. From that moment you were save you have the great power of the Holy Spirit in you that will enable you to endure and overcome every bit of tribulation the devil will throw at you. Much more than rejoicing that fact is knowing that your name is written in heaven. “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” – Luke 10:19-20.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” – II Corinthians 3:16-17.

Today’s Prayer: God, When tribulation comes my way, I admit the last thing I want to do is minister to others, especially when it never seems to end. I know I get discouraged and sometimes even spread my sorrows to others as I try to get by. In fact, all I want to do is hide in a corner somewhere and not talk to anyone, but when I come to my senses I know You are always there, ready to pick me up and show me how to handle things, and get back to doing the work You called me to do. You are so merciful to me that it tears me up to think that I suffered so long when all I had to do was come to You. Lord, there is no one like You, so loving, so trusting, so fearing, just as a Father should be, You may not remove the tribulation right away, but Your grace is sufficient enough to help me through it and I thank You for that. Walk with me, guide me, and abide in me, give me that consolation that I know only comes as I remain in Your presence, and let me be a consolation to the Light others need. I love You Lord and ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.